Category: Home Budget Tips

Perhaps you’re not into house hunting, or maybe you are in the market for that specially built one-of-a-kind home that is built around you. More and more home buyers are opting for custom built homes, where they have a greater say in how the home gets designed, as well as how big or small it is. If this describes you, then you may be a perfect candidate for a custom built home. Before you go ahead and hire a construction crew, beware of some the following pitfalls:

Lacking the details

It’s important to not only develop the floor plan but also having a plan for how the rooms will be designed. Everything from the wallpaper design to the faucet finish needs to be planned out before you begin the process.

Hasty hiring

Make sure that you thoroughly examine candidates who will perform the work, check that they are licensed and insured contractors, who have a history of good workmanship and professionalism.

Building too big

You may be tempted to go big based on the amount of stuff you own, or you may have a psychological bias towards large mansions. Although you feel like that would make you happy now, that may not be in your best interest a decade from now.

All too often, families who had built a 5,000+ square foot home will come to regret their original decision, and are now desiring to downsize, preferring a home as small as something half the size. Although that may sound drastic, a smaller home won’t feel so small if space is optimized well.

Consider the resale value

Even if you don’t have any immediate plan on selling/flipping your home, plan on buying it as if you were. The reality is that our lives are filled with uncertainty, and it’s hard to know where we will be in 10 years. We have met with clients who once built large homes, only to have great difficulty in selling it, unless they took a significant loss on their original investment. The takeaway here is simple: build only as much home as you need.

Consider the mortgage payments

As we had previously suggested, build only as much home as you need. You can always add to it later on down the road. This is a strategy that many experienced home builders follow, as a way of keeping mortgage payments affordable. You may have a vision for your home to include a luxury kitchen and bathroom, which is fine. Keep in mind that doing it upfront may require a greater initial investment, as well as mortgage payments that may bring on the financial difficulty for you and your family.